Education Week, the paper of record for the edu-wonk community, reports today on fears that education funding will be slashed because of the likely Wall Street bailout. Education lobbyists and advocates are planning on arguing that better education for children will boost the economy in the long-run. (Experts actually disagree about whether schooling can or has ever been a primary driver of American economic growth.) And as James Horney, director of federal fiscal policy at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, told Ed Week:
It may be hard for some lawmakers to say no to increases for schools after pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial sector. Imagining what advocates might ask, Mr. Horney said: “ ‘How dare you not be able to invest a measly [few] billion in these domestic programs that help real people, not Wall Street?' ”
As I wrote yesterday, it would be disastrous for Congress or the executive branch to develop a fear of spending just as we enter a probable recession in which, as we know from economic history, deficit spending can help to create jobs and stabilize people's lives through crucial social services. Let's review the basics: President Bush squandered a surplus during a relatively strong economy on the Iraq War and tax cuts for the rich. If the federal government became a budget hawk now, as Wall Street collapses, it would compound the problem, not reverse it. There is a time for balanced budgets at all costs and a time for reinvesting in infrastructure and social programs. This is the latter.
--Dana Goldstein
